A number of attempts have been made in the past to convert the heat energy of geothermal brine to useful work. Among the prior disclosures which illustrate these attempts are those set forth in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 3,021,265; 3,274,769; 3,457,144; 3,470,943; 3,489,652; 3,579,328; 3,681,920; 3,757,516; and 3,953,972. All of these patents illustrate the various ways in which the heat energy of geothermal brine can be used to provide steam for a turbine. Except for the last patent, all of the above patents disclose structure in which corrosive and scale-forming vapors derived from the geothermal brine actually contact the various parts of a turbine, thereby presenting a major problem with respect to deterioration of the turbine structure, such as the fan blades and the like. The last patent above discloses structure which is thermally inefficient inasmuch as hot working fluid, after having flashed so as to deliver steam to the turbine, is still at a relatively high temperature as it leaves the turbine so that a substantial part of the energy in the fluid is not used to produce useful work.
In view of the shortcomings of the prior art techniques, a need has arisen for an improved apparatus and a method of converting heat energy of geothermal brine to useful work in a manner to eliminate the shortcomings and to provide an efficient operating system.